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San Francisco Shakespeare Festival’s mission is to make the words and themes of Shakespeare accessible to everyone, regardless of age, ethnicity, financial status or level of education. By lowering practical and perceptual barriers, we encourage broad participation in the arts and make these activities a part of community life.
The Festival serves as a catalyst for audience development by reaching thousands of people who otherwise do not attend live theater or may have never experienced it at all. Our programming represents the plays in their finest light, demonstrates their relevance to today’s society, and inspires our students and audiences to seek out additional theatrical experiences.
We are dedicated to arts education, using our programs to foster a life-long appreciation of learning and the arts. We offer day camps and classes for children age 7 to 17, as well as in-school residencies and playshops.
Bring the magic of live theater and the beauty of Shakespeare’s poetic language to YOUR location. Send your booking requests NOW for this popular title!
The production is professionally directed and suitable for elementary students through adults. The tour visits schools, libraries, and community centers throughout the state. Schools also receive a curriculum guide written by professional educators, with lesson plans designed to help teachers prepare their students to more fully appreciate the performance.
In the Spring of 2024 SF Shakes Board Member Dan Rabinowitz began hosting an online series of panel discussions with Shakespeare scholars, directors, performers, and designers. SF Shakes Artistic Director Carla Pantoja joined Dan for these lively and informative discussions.
Click the button below to access recordings of these lively and insightful discussions.
Thank you to all who made this summer’s Free Shakespeare in the Park production of The Tempest a rousing success! Get on the notice list for info about Free Shakespeare in the Park 2025!
Experience welcome but not required for our Bay Area Shakespeare Camp programs for ages 7-13. Enrollment for 2024 summer sessions is closed Sign up to get first notice for 2025 sessions, including
the Advanced Shakespeare Workshop for ages 12-18.
The August 19 panel conversation featured cast and company members from this summer’s Free Shakespeare in the Park production of The Tempest in conversation with SF Shakes Board Member Dan Rabinowitz and Artistic Director Carla Pantoja.
Behind-the-scenes perspectives were presented by actors David Everett Moore and Nic Moore and Music Director/Composer Jen Coogan and Costume Designer Bethany Deal.
The July 8 conversation featured Dr. Farah Karim-Cooper, the incoming Director of The Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington DC.
Board Member Dan Rabinowitz hosted this third discussion, in which he and SF Shakes Artistic Director Carla Pantoja engaged in conversation about The Tempest with Dr. Farah Karim-Cooper. The discussion explored and examined her deeply thoughtful analysis of race, gender and otherness in The Tempest, along with a radical reappraisal of society in Elizabethan London, the backdrop from which Shakespeare’s plays emerged and against which they were presented.
The June 17 conversation featured this summers’ Free Shakes in the Park Director Rotimi Agbabiaka in conversation with SF Shakes Artistic Director Carla Pantoja and was hosted by SF Shakes Board Member Dan Rabinowitz.
Dan and Carla engaged in lively and insightful discussion with Rotimi, who shared his directorial perspectives on this summer’s Free Shakespeare in the Park production of The Tempest and his intent to highlight the themes of forgiveness and recovering from loss.
We’re delighted to share a recording of this fascinating panel conversation (that took place on March 25), featuring Dr. Will Tosh, Head of Research at Shakespeare’s Globe, London in conversation with SF Shakes Artistic Director Carla Pantoja and hosted by SF Shakes Board Member Dan Rabinowitz.
Dan, Carla, and Will touched on a wide variety of the remarkable features and the artistic and historical context of this wonderful comedy. They see it as a remarkable social commentary that is just as relevant today as it was in 1599, as Shakespeare’s great implicit feminist statement, and as a play that touches on and implicates gender issues more broadly in ways that resonate with our audiences.
Shakespeare’s Heartbeat uses the Hunter Heartbeat Method developed by Kelly Hunter of Flute Theatre, utilizing the iambic pentameter (heartbeat rhythm) of Shakespeare’s words and the physicality of his characters to engage with students on the autism spectrum. Geared towards grades 4-12.
Our annual gala fundraiser returns April 20, 2024 with All The World’s A Stage at the San Francisco Italian Athletic Club. Celebrating our 42 years of Shakespeare, there will be dining, a live performance of As You Like It, and everyone can participate in the auction to make donations and bid on wine, travel, experiences, and more.
Saturday Upstart Crows classes are physically and mentally engaging weekend sessions where students age 11-18 deepen their skills and knowledge through a comprehensive rehearsal process that explores language, history, voice, movement, text analysis, and play.
The Second Annual Bay Area Shakespeare General Audition is here!
Marin Shakespeare Company, San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, SPARC (formerly Livermore Shakespeare), and Vallejo Shakespeare in the Park have joined forces to give artists the opportunity to be seen by all of us at once. Audition slots fill up fast—don't miss your chance!
For more information and pay rates visit ow.ly/INte50TK3wi and sign up here: ow.ly/c6oF50TK3wh
We greatly encourage BIPOC, LGBTQiA+, gender non-conforming, and disabled people to audition.
Note: the BASG (Bay Area Shakespeare General) cohort is still reeling with the devastating news from Cal Shakes, but have decided to move forward and get the audition information out to our folks as timely as we can.
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A big shout out to Theater Bay Area for hosting their 2024 conference "Roots Intertwined" at Z Space this Monday. We were so glad to be in attendance.
Thank you TBA for helping our theatre ecosystem flourish!
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Join Free Shakes' Tempest composer Jen Coogan in her NYC concert premiere of The Women in Theatre Project
The Women in Theatre Project is based from a series of interviews Jen Coogan did with prominent women in theatre of all different disciplines including Daryl Roth, Jennifer Ashley Tepper, Mimi Lien, Ilana Levine, Earon Nealey, Lauren Gunderson, Dawn Chiang, and Erin Merritt. Part love letter, part documentary, The Women in Theatre Project celebrates the craft of theatre making, and the women behind the art form.
The Women In Theater Project premieres on October 19th at 54 Below. Find out more at ow.ly/ul1B50TH#womenintheatree#theatree#womenintheartsearts
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Thank you for sharing!!💓✨️
SAN FRANCISCO SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL
PO Box 46093
San Francisco, CA 94146-0937
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